[Role Playing Game] The Reconquest of Lordaeron (RPG & DC co-op map) - Feedback is welcome!

[Juveqis]

1. General Idea

For some time now, I've been thinking about creating a cooperative multiplayer map for five or more players, inspired by one of my all-time favorite Warcraft III maps: The Founding of Durotar. My idea is to blend elements of Role Playing Game (RPG) and Dungeon Crawler with teamwork and challenging combat against bosses and enemies.

In this map, the player will take control of a single Hero and must rely on their allies throughout the adventure. To ensure a smooth and engaging gameplay experience, I aim toto incorporate the responsiveness and fluidity typically found in MOBA games, allowing Heroes to move and react swiftly. This "strategic depth" enables players to skillfuly evade enemy spells and attacks.

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2. Story and Setting

My favorite location and setting for the map is the Kingdom of Lordaeron during or after the Third War. This setting offers and ideal backdrop for a classic narrative where players are immersed in a near post-apocalyptic world.

The story unfolds in an alternate timeline where either Arthas Menethil never departed from the shores of Lordaeron to merge with the Lich King but still gained his power, or he returned from Northrend to reclaim the Throne of Lordaeron as the Lich King.

Spoiler: To avoid being too lengthy, click here if you want to know a bit more about the story...

In this alternate timeline, the remnants of the Alliance have founded a new capital in the old city of Strahnbrad, located in the southeast of Lordaeron under the leadership of a veteran Paladin of the Silver Hand.

Every day, new refugees arrive in Strahnbrad, working together to rebuild the city and its surroundings. The Alliance is now a diverse coalition of Humans, Dwarves, Night Elves and High Elves, all united by a common goal: vengeance.

Your Hero's journey begins on the King's Road near Strahnbrad. As a part of a group of survivors who have been wandering the Plaguelands for weeks, you are driven by the hope of finding a new stronghold. Hearing that the Alliance is regathering its strength in Strahnbrad, you head towards the city. Your Hero, one of these determined refugees, arrives in Strahnbrad with nothing but the burning desire to fight back and reclaim your homeland.

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3. Main Quest and Map Design

The main quest is to travel from Stranhbrad to the Capital City, crossing along Lordaeron's territory (better known as The Plaguelands) to defeat the Lich King.

To achieve this, Players must reclaim territories, recapture cities along the way, and rescue powerful allies who will aid them later in the final showdown. Each territory is likely to be controlled by a powerful lieutenant of the Scourge.

As I aim to include all posible areas of the Kingdom of Lordaeron and connect them via the King's Road, the map will need epic dimensions of 468x468 where I would be able to recreate iconic locations like Stranhbrad, Andorhal, Hearthglen, and new ones like the Capital City or Vandermar Cathedral. Additionally, I'd like to not only create the exterior landscapes but also the interior of some buildings and dungeons.

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4. Gameplay

· Heroes

· Combat System

· Buff/Debuff System

· Inventory System

· UI

Players will have the opportunity to choose their Hero at the beginning of the game. Unlike well-known characters from the Warcraft III universe, these Heroes will be "nobodies" — heroic versions of standard Alliance units. This choice not only allows for greater creative freedom in developing unique abilities and mechanics but also gives players a sense of growth as the game progresses.

Currently, my idea is design two Heroes for each race:

Humans,

Dwarves,

High Elves (Blood Elves), and

Night Elves. For example, two initial Heroes have already been considered:

The Priest (High Elf) and

The Footman (Human). Each Hero will have a racial trait inspired by World of Warcraft, granting special advantages.

Following a MOBA-style approach, each Hero will have three basic abilities (Q, W, and E) and one heroic ability (R). To add an extra layer of strategy and diversity, players can choose between two options for each ability (excluding the racial trait), allowing for different gameplay approaches.

All abilities will scale with the Hero's primary attribute, level, and other modifiers. Moreover, abilities can be significantly enhanced at specific locations within major cities in exchange for

Experience Points, which replaces Warcraft III's upkeep. I think this system adds some strategic depth and customization to battles.

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Let's take the Priest Hero as an example to explain some of these abilities and choices. As the name suggests, this Hero is a classic spellcaster healer. Despite being fragile, the Priest excels at keeping allies alive, granting valuable buffs, and dealing

magical damage to enemies, particularly the Undead.

As a High Elf, the Priest Hero has a unique racial trait known as:

Mana Addiction: manipulate the residual mana lingering in the air after casting spells harnessing their innate connection to magic, recovering 15% of your maximum mana and granting 10% spell power for your next cast. It has a 60 seconds cooldown.

For the Q ability, Priest must choose between two options:

Holy Light. Channel the positive energies of the Light, healing you and friendly Heroes for 78 hitpoints and dealing 118 magical damage to undead enemy units in a selected area of effect of 75 range. Cooldown: 8 seconds Mana Cost: 35 Casting Time: 0.58 seconds Range: 600

The Priest using Holy Light against a group of undead enemies while healing the Footman Hero.

Heal. Call upon the Light, healing yourself or the selected friendly Hero for 46 hitpoints, each cast increase the mana cost by 15, up to a maximum of 45 mana for 4 seconds. Alternatevily, unleash a radiant Light missile dealing 30 magical damage to the selected enemy. Cooldown: 1 second Mana Cost: 15 Casting Time: 0.58 seconds Range: 400

The Priest using Heal on the Footman Hero and against an undead enemy.

For the W ability, Priest must choose between two options:

Power Word: Shield. Wrap you or the selected friendly Hero in a sacred barrier, making them invunlerable to physical and magical damage for 1.5 seconds. Cooldown: 10 second Mana Cost: 25 Casting Time: 0.58 seconds Range: 600

The Priest using Power Word: Shield to protect the Footman Hero against physical damage from Ghouls.

Inner Fire. Strengthen the warrior spirit of yourself or the selected friendly Hero, increasing their attack damage by 10% and their physical and magical armor by 5. Additionaly, the target receives 50% of your damage dealt with abilities as healing. You can only have one active at a time. Cooldown: 10 seconds Mana Cost: 25 Casting Time: 0.58 seconds Range: 600

The Priest using Inner Fire on the Footman Hero and healing him by dealing damage by using offensive abilities.

For the E ability, Priest must choose between two options:

Cleanse. Remove the negative effects of Poison and Curse from yourself or the selected friendly Hero. Cooldown: 8 seconds Mana Cost: 15 Casting Time: 0.58 seconds Range: 600

The Priest using Cleanse to remove negative effects of Curse of Dexterity (Curse) of Banshee.

Dispel Magic. Remove the negative effects of Magic and Disease from yourself and friendly Heroes in a selected area of effect of 200 range. Additionaly, deal 66 magical damage to enemy summoned units. Cooldown: 18 seconds Mana Cost: 20 Casting Time: 0.58 seconds Range: 600

The Priest using Dispel Magic to remove negative effects of Cripple (magic) of Necromancer.

For the R ability, Priest must choose between two options:

Resurrection. Kneel on the ground and say a desperate prayer, resurrecting the corpse of a selected friendly Hero after 0.5 seconds with 100% of their maximum health and mana. Cooldown: 60 seconds Mana Cost: 35 Casting Time: 2.32 seconds Range: 600

Priest Hero channeling Resurrection to bring back to life a Footman Hero.

Holy Nova. Cause an explosion of Light, dealing 50 magical damage to enemies and healing 25% of maximum health of yourself and friendly Heroes in an area of 250 range after 0.75 seconds. Cooldown: 50 seconds Mana Cost: 30 Casting Time: 0.58 seconds

Priest Hero using Holy Nova to heal friendly allies and dealing damage to enemies in an area.

The combat system introduces several innovative features to enhance strategic depth and player interaction.

Classification of Damage and Armor Types

• 
  Physical. Displayed as orange text, physical damage represents attacks relying on brute force, weapons, or physical impact. It is mitigated by physical armor. For every 1 point of this armor, there is a 1% reduction in the corresponding type of damage, scaling up to a maximum reduction of 100%. This means that a unit with 50 points of physical armor would take 50% less physical damage.
  
  
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  Magical. Displayed as purple text, magical damage signifies attacks powered by arcane energies, elemental forces, or other mystical sources. It is mitigaed by Magical Armor. For every 1 point of this armor, there is a 1% reduction of the damage taken. This means that a unit with 30 points of magical armor would take a 30% less magical damage.

Evading and Dodging

• Melee Attacks. Players can strategically evade melee attacvks by moving out of the enemy's range.
  
  
• Missile Attacks. Unlike Warcraft III's auto-targeting, most missile enemy attacks are dodgeable, requiring players to anticipate and react to incoming projectiles.

The Priest dodging the attacks of a Gnoll Warden, the attacks leave an impact mark on the ground.

• Visual Indicators. Enemy abilities display predictive indicators of their impact area before activation. This feature give players reaction time to dodge or mitigate incoming damage.

The Priest dodging the stones thrown by the Stone Golem thanks to the red indicators on the ground.

Floating Text

• Impact of Spell Power or Healing Amplification. Offensive and healing abilities affected by modifiers show larger floating texts with an exclamation mark and prolonged display time on screen.

Normal floating text, when the ability is not affected by Spell Power or Healing Amplification (magical damage in purple and healing in green).

Larger floating text with exclamation marks when the ability is affected by Spell Power or Healing Amplification (magical damage in purple and healing in green).

My idea is to implement a comprehensive buffs and debuffs system inspired by World of Warcraft, enhancing the strategic depth and complexity of gameplay. Buffs are positive effects that can enhance a Hero's abilities, attributes, or overall performance in battle. These can include increased attack speed, enhanced defense, boosted spell power, and other beneficial modifiers that provide an edge during combat. On the other hand, debuffs are negative effects that can hinder a Hero's capabilities.

This system categorizes buffs and debuffs into five different types: Curse, Disease, Magic, Poison, and Undispellable, each represented by a specific color and distinct properties. Here’s a breakdown of each type:

• Curse. As a debuff, Drastically reduce a Hero’s effectiveness, lowering attributes like Strength or Agility. As a buff, it can have a wide range of effects.
  • For example, the
    
    Skeletal Longevity (Curse) from most skeletal units allows the unit to rise upon death.
• Disease. Tend to inflict long-lasting damage over time but may have additional effects such as reducing healing received.
  • For example, the
    
    Plague Cloud (Disease) spread by Abominations causes the unit to receive damage per second.
• Magic. Indicates that the target is under the influence of a spell. As a buff, it provides beneficial effects, enhancing the target’s abilities or statistics . They can often be dispelled by specific anti-magic spells or abilities.
  • For example, the
    
    Rejuvenation (Magic) from a Druid’s ability regenerates hitpoints per second.
• Poison. These debuffs tend to inflict short-term damage over time and can kill an unit.
  • For example, the
    
    Enchanted Spear from a Dryad's ability causes the unit to receive damage per second.
• Undispellable: Unlike other buffs or debuffs, undispellable effects cannot be removed by any dispel abilities.
  • For example,
    
    Stun (Undispellable) renders the unit unable to move or take action.

The inventory system is rooted in the standard Warcraft inventory but has been enhanced with inspiration from World of Warcraft to create a more strategic and immersive experience. Items are divided into specific slots:

• 
  Consumables: Four slots are dedicated to potions and other one-time-use items. These slots also hold Key Items needed for quests, objectives, or progression.
  
  
• 
  Necklaces: One slot is exclusively for necklaces. Necklaces grant unique bonuses or abilities to the Hero who equips them, such as increased mana regeneration, enhanced defensive capabilities, or unique spells.
  
  
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  Rings: The final slot is designated for rings, which often come with inherent trade-offs. Rings can boost various stats, but they might also come with downsides. Players need to carefully choose their rings based on their strategy and the current needs of their Hero, balancing the benefits and drawbacks to maximize their effectiveness in battle.

The original Warcraft III User Interface will be replaced with Kwaliti's Dungeonmaster UI. The original Warcraft III Command Buttons will be replaced with The_Silent's Universal Command Buttons.

This interface, which fits seamlessly with the "RPG adventure" theme, allows players to easily access information about three new resources, damage types, buff classifications, and how different attributes enhance their Hero.

• 
  Gold Coins. These are the new currency of the game, replacing the "Gold" in Warcraft III. They are used to buy items from merchants around the kingdom. Gold Coins are mainly obtained as quest rewards, found in gold chests, or scattered across the map. All players gather it globally.
  
  
• 
  Mithril Ores. These are traditional upgrade materials, replacing the "Wood" in Warcraft III. They are used to enhance the weapons and armor of your Hero. Players acquire them from defeating powerful Bosses or discovering them hidden throughout Lordaeron. All players gather it globally.
  
  
• 
  Experience Points. These are the available experience points that the player can invest in enhancing abilities, learning new skills, and increasing attributes. XP is obtained from defeating all types of enemies and is earned globally among all players.

5. Feedback

Your opinion matters! I would love to hear your ideas. Whether you have suggestions for new features, improvements, or any other feedback, please share it.

 

[The Nightmare Book]

What you have written here is really, really inspiring and COOL. It doesn't have overwhelming mechanics for such a project people do, but already I see the pace and hero gameplay.
I can only suggest you use next:

Click-And-Hold Movement

A small library to enable click-and-hold movement (hold the right mouse-button to move your hero) for hero maps like aeon of strife, hero arenas, or rpgs, especially maps in which you have to move and dodge really fast. Every hero map should have a click-and-hold feature to not make its players...

www.hiveworkshop.com

To your ideas, diablo-like movement will easily match and enhance gameplay, IMO.

 

[Juveqis]

What you have written here is really, really inspiring and COOL. It doesn't have overwhelming mechanics for such a project people do, but already I see the pace and hero gameplay.
I can only suggest you use next:

Click-And-Hold Movement

A small library to enable click-and-hold movement (hold the right mouse-button to move your hero) for hero maps like aeon of strife, hero arenas, or rpgs, especially maps in which you have to move and dodge really fast. Every hero map should have a click-and-hold feature to not make its players...

www.hiveworkshop.com

To your ideas, diablo-like movement will easily match and enhance gameplay, IMO.

Thank you for your kind words, I will try to use that cool system into my map!